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The Dead Horses are the descendants of refugees from Dead Horse Point State Park. The Dead Horses were taught how to maintain weapons and how to fight, among other things, by Joshua Graham, whom they both feared and admired.

When Graham returned after being punished by Caesar and left for dead, he decided to help the Dead Horses again, but in a less harsh way. He convinced them to migrate from Dead Horse Point to Zion Canyon. Graham quickly became their warlord, which proved especially advantageous in their conflict with the White Legs.

With the exception of Follows-Chalk, the Dead Horses believe that pre-War areas are taboo. The majority of the tribe have no desire to leave Zion Canyon for the outer Wasteland as they feel they have a duty to protect their home. They hunt bighorners for food, but are very mindful of the environment and the animals of Zion. The Dead Horse tribe are on friendly terms with the Sorrows, another tribe located in Zion Canyon. However, they are in conflict with a tribe known as the White Legs. Not much is known about their religion other than they are polytheistic, which is mentioned when the Courier tells Follows-Chalk about the Battle of Hoover Dam. When the Courier tells him that the dam is bigger than most of the mountains in Zion, he exclaims "Oh my gods!" in amazement.

The Dead Horses are individualistic in the way that they govern their personal lives. They are democratic in matters concerning the tribe as a whole. Usually, the only decisions made autocratically are those regarding conflicts with outside groups. In this sphere Joshua Graham has been given complete authority to dictate the actions of tribal warriors in times of war. Joshua stated he desired little to do with the way the tribe conducted its personal matters, believing that there may be better men whose example should be followed than his own.

Their tribe is located at Dead Horse Point in the Eastern Virgin. Most of the Dead Horses are designated as scouts. The full-fledged scouts occasionally leave chalk murals and pictographs to guide the less experienced ones during reconnaissance or to lead warriors to good hunting grounds.

While the Dead Horses maintain offensive and defensive capabilities collectively, it can't be said they possess a designated wartime force. Though the tribe does have warriors who are specifically armed and trained for the purpose of combat, they primarily act as hunters. The tribe also has a separate branch of scouts, but again, their talents (while widely applicable) are more often utilized for the more practical matters of exploration and locating game. These scouts can be found all over Zion Canyon, and often in pairs. The Dead Horses have been taught by Joshua to use the New Canaanites' .45 Auto pistols, though they favor the war club as their signature weapon. When the Courier reaches Zion Canyon, Joshua Graham is ready to lead the Dead Horses in an extermination of the White Legs, despite Daniel, who voices his concern for their fate as well as the relative innocence of the tribes.

The majority of the Dead Horse tribe have no desire to explore the rest of the Wasteland, and they tend to stay away from pre-War buildings. Caesar's Legion came to Zion Canyon before the first battle of Hoover Dam and took control of their tribe, under orders from Joshua Graham. It was then that they expanded into the former state of Utah. They remained here until Joshua Graham returned after being exiled from Caesars Legion for failing Caesar at the First Battle of Hoover Dam and became the leader of their tribe. The Happy Trails Caravan Company have attempted to make contact with the Mormons at New Canaan by passing through Zion Canyon. At one point, The Lonesome Drifter arrived in Zion and told the Dead Horse tribe of the Wasteland outside of Zion. Other than this, the Dead Horse tribe are fairly reclusive and tend to be wary of outsiders.
They have good relations with New Canaanites, however they revere the power and leadership of Joshua Graham rather than the teachings of New Canaan.

The Dead Horses, like most Zion tribals, speak a creole language. Their language is based on English, Dutch, German and Navajo, although the morphology of the Navajo is unrecognizable.[1] Joshua Graham believes it to be a combination of the language spoken in a place that the Dead Horses call "Res" in their simplified tongue, and languages spoken by tourists who were stranded in Utah and Arizona in the aftermath of the Great War. Their language seems to have developed or evolved from a bizarre mix of English, Dutch and German, cf. zookuh 'seek, look for,' hoi 'hello,' utman 'outlander (Dutch zoeken, hoi, uit-man), owslandr 'outlander, foreigner, stranger,' dahs 'that,' deer 'you,' warum 'why,' Shtairb 'die,' thot 'dead,' Shaiss 'shit' (German Ausländer, das, dir, warum, stirb, tot, Scheiße).

Having revered Joshua Graham as a living legend for so many years, the Dead Horses found it difficult to accept his death. New Canaanite missionaries sought to remain in contact with the tribe, but lacking Joshua's authority, their influence dwindled. Still, as an expression of enduring respect for their lost spiritual leader, the Dead Horses helped protect the lands where New Canaanites settled. As generations passed, the Dead Horses came to worship a spirit of the land, a harsh spirit of divine justice. They called it Joshua.

Having helped Daniel and the Sorrows escape from Zion, the Dead Horses returned to their home at Dead Horse Point. The tribe continued to learn from the New Canaanites, and over many years built a flourishing community along the banks of the Colorado. Though the tribes' bond would endure, it was Joshua Graham's legend the Dead Horses would revere, not the tenets of New Canaan's faith.

Having helped eradicate the White Legs from Zion, the Dead Horses returned to Dead Horse Point in triumph. They remained neutral toward the Sorrows, but as years went on, there were periods of competitive friction, even violence, between the tribes. The New Canaanites - Daniel especially - intervened regularly as mediators, but found it difficult to reconcile the tribes' conflicts.